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People trying to leave Roosevelt Island during the over-crowded Annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
People trying to leave Roosevelt Island during the over-crowded Annual Cherry Blossom Festival.Richard Harbus
People trying to leave on the Roosevelt Island Tramway.
People trying to leave on the Roosevelt Island Tramway.Richard Harbus
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People attempted to exit the F train subway on Roosevelt Island.
People attempted to exit the F train subway on Roosevelt Island.Dustin Tyler Joce
Cherry blossoms in full bloom during the Roosevelt Island festival.
Cherry blossoms in full bloom during the Roosevelt Island festival.Richard Harbus
People admiring the cherry blossoms on Roosevelt Island.
People admiring the cherry blossoms on Roosevelt Island.Richard Harbus
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Thousands of spring-starved New Yorkers flocked to Roosevelt Island on Saturday for its annual cherry blossom festival — but found themselves stuck in a transportation log jam.

The bridge, tram, F train, NYC Ferry, and bus service all experienced crowding and delays.

The cherry crush got even worse after 1:45, when the NYPD briefly asked the MTA to bypass the Roosevelt Island stop so that paralyzed F trains could move again.

“It was really hot,” Dominic McKenzie told Gothamist of being stuck 30 minutes on an escalator at the subway stop. “I was worried someone would pass out.”

Service resumed ten minutes later, but the crowding persisted.

“Not the Mexican border,” attendee Joey Bartolomeo tweeted above her photo of pedestrians crowding the bridge. “Just people trying to get off Roosevelt Island on foot.”

It took Kanchi Shah, 31, and her family two hours to get onto the island by car from Queens. They had to park a mile away from the bridge.

“It was a lot,” she sighed.

Arifa Javed, 32, schlepped in from New Jersey with her husband, an 11-month-old in a stroller and a four-year-old who insisted on being carried.

“We couldn’t find parking. It was a long line. We had to walk. We couldn’t find the subway. We couldn’t get the [tram].

“We have done 8,000 steps so far,” she said, laughing. “It was tiring.”

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